The front-loading washing machines in the prior art such as that in the patent specification ES448939 have a perforated washing machine drum with a rear disk which closes it and a front ring which is used for the aperture for the introduction of the laundry to be washed.
This drum is located in the interior of the detergent solution tank which is filled with water and, in the interior of this detergent solution tank, the drum is rotated with the aid of a motor which drives a shaft force-fitted to the drum. The strip forming the drum has apertures scattered on its surface so that the water can move in and out during the wash cycle.
For the purposes of enhancing the washing performance, the strip forming the drum has deformations which beat the laundry in the course of the rotation during the washing and free it from the internal surface of the strip. These folds are known as paddles.
In the manufacture of drums of this type, the joining of the strip to the rear disk and to the front ring is brought about by the clamping of the metal sheets with the aid of folds.
In the area of the paddles, no clamping is achievable as in the rest of the periphery since not enough sheet is present at the edge of the paddles so that it could reach to the limit of the rear disk or the front ring. The joint of the rear disk with the strip in the area of the paddles is the point that withstands most strain since the rotary thrust of the motor is driven onto the drum in the rear disk.
For the purposes of joining the strip to the rear disk via a paddle, said paddle has connecting straps which are extensions of the sheet at its ends and are curved parallel to the disk toward the outside of the drum and held down by a plate which is riveted to the rear part of the drum or even riveted to one of the arms by means of which the shaft is joined to the drum, the connecting straps and the rear disk being located between the plate and the arm.